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This nice obituary of Tony, written by Matt Morris, appeared in Ariel on January 13:
Everybody who knew him will be sad to hear of the death on Boxing Day of Tony Jay, for years a substantial figure in the domestic radio newsroom at BH. He was 71. Tony was at his prime in an era when breaks were taken at the Horse and Groom, or the Yorkshire Grey, or the Crown and Sceptre. Tony's pint was always in a jug, never a straight glass; and he took his ale with a roll-up made of Old Holborn in green rizlas. Tony's manner could seem fierce, but in that capacious chest there beat a golden heart. With Tony there were never any recriminations. He never blamed anyone else for thingy-ups. If Tony was in charge, he carried the can. He was in charge on the night of the Broadwater Farm riot, when a policeman was murdered. There was an inexperienced news organiser on duty, who never properly realised what a difficult night it was. Tony sorted him out, as well as doing his own rather more important job superbly. On another night Tony - again in charge - had done the bulletins with his usual aplomb. It might have been an election night; or maybe the Task Force had landed in the Falnklands. Anyway, the Controller of Radio Four - or was it the Editor of Today? --bustled into the newsroom to ask Tony how things had gone. "For God's sake woman", barked Tony - shoes off, feet on the desk, roll-up smouldering, whisky tumbler at elbow - "Can't you see I'm busy?" Tony was a good sportsman in his youth and even towards the end of his career he was prepared to turn out for the newsroom cricket team. At the annual dinner at the end of one particularly successful season Tony - with the usual newsroom irony - was presented with the Best Young Player of the Year award. It was, he noted in his acceptance speech, "a gross carriage of justice". Tony leaves his wife Marian, his children Kate, Peter and Tom, and the fondest memories among his many colleagues.
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